View full sizeMike Greenlar / The Post StandardFile - Dan Maffei and Ann Marie Buerkle at a debate in 2010.

Washington - Iowa dairy farmer Mark Broich knows enough about U.S. Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle that he decided to open his wallet and give the Syracuse-area Republican $300 for her re-election campaign.

Shrikant Dighe, a pharmaceutical consultant in Bethesda, Md., has never met Rep. Dan Maffei, a Democrat from DeWitt. But Dighe sent him $275 for this year’s campaign rematch against Buerkle.

Their political contributions are part of $1.4 million from outside of the region that has already flowed into the campaign for the new 24th Congressional District.

Special interest groups, party political committees and powerful Super PACs that raise unlimited amounts of money are investing heavily in Buerkle and Maffei — and encouraging people like Broich and Dighe to follow their lead.

Since January 2011, Buerkle has raised 75.4 percent of her money from outside of the 24th Congressional District, according to an analysis by The Post-Standard of campaign finance data. Maffei raised 80 percent of his campaign cash from outside of the district, according to the analysis of itemized donations listed in disclosure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission through June 6.

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Critics say the candidates’ dependence on outside money makes residents of the Syracuse area congressional district feel like they have less influence and fuels cynicism about government.

Buerkle and Maffei had each raised about $1 million for their own campaigns by June 6. In addition, some national groups say they are prepared to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars independently of Buerkle and Maffei to support the candidates.

The outside money illustrates how the rematch of the bitter 2010 campaign between Buerkle and Maffei — which Buerkle won by 648 votes — has become a national bellwether for those who view the election as about something much larger than Central New York.

Those behind the cash from outside the 24th District say they view the Buerkle-Maffei rematch as a wise investment because it is one of the most competitive congressional races in the nation.

Buerkle has drawn support – and opposition — because of her ranking as New York’s most conservative Republican. It’s also the reason why people like Broich and Dighe are suddenly involved in political races far from their homes.

Broich made his donation through the Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund, a Washington, D.C. political action committee that steered $54,551 to Buerkle. The fund serves as a conduit for donors who want to help female candidates opposed to abortion.

Dighe made his donation through ACT Blue, a PAC in Cambridge, Mass., that channels individual donations from across the nation to liberal Democrats.

The Susan B. Anthony List and ActBlue are among more than two dozen groups from outside of Central New York turning the local race into a national battleground.

In 2010, the candidates and their outside supporters spent almost $5 million combined, a record for the Syracuse-based congressional seat. With so much at stake this year, that record is expected to be broken.

Special interest groups

Many individual donors to both candidates have already given Buerkle or Maffei the federal limit of $2,500 for the general election.

But special interest groups that spend money independently don’t have to worry about those limits. In addition to the money Buerkle raised, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., spent more than $131,000 on a Syracuse television ad blitz on behalf of Buerkle in May, and expects to spend a lot more before the race is over.

“It is one of the most important congressional races for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in the nation for 2012,” said Rob Engstrom, the group’s senior vice president and national political director.

The national business group is free of campaign spending limits because it does not donate directly to Buerkle; its campaign spending is classified as an independent expenditure.

Engstrom said the Buerkle-Maffei race also offers a particularly strong contrast between the two candidates that is not as well defined in many of the other 434 House districts nationwide.

The Chamber’s rivals — labor unions such as the AFL-CIO — have also rushed into the Central New York congressional race with large commitments of resources.

The New York AFL-CIO, which represents 2.5 million members and their families in the state and 65,000 members in the district, is coordinating with its national union to make the Buerkle-Maffei race a referendum of sorts on Buerkle’s policies. The group gave her a zero rating on her legislative record.

Mario Cilento, president of the New York State AFL-CIO, said his organization views the race as one of the top priorities in the state.

Cilento said his group will likely focus more on grassroots campaigning in Central New York than heavy spending on advertising.

“For us, the investment is mobilizing our membership,” Cilento said. “We are never going to be able to spend dollar for dollar with those interests that support Congresswoman Buerkle.”

Money concerns

As a challenger two years ago, Buerkle repeatedly voiced concerns about Maffei’s outside-the-district contributions, especially those from PACs.

“I think the fact that his money comes from out of state and from PACs and special interests — that is what people are upset about. People feel as if they have lost their voice,” Buerkle said in September 2010. She suggested the money made Maffei subject to the influence of donors from outside of Cenral New York.

This year, Common Cause New York, a good government group, is echoing those concerns, but criticizing the fundraising by both Maffei and Buerkle.

Common Cause views the political donations and spending from outside the 24th District as a symptom of a larger problem.

“How many voters have the $2,500 to donate to a federal race?” said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York. “Very few New Yorkers have that kind of money. And they feel they are not being listened to. It creates a great deal of cynicism and distrust of the system.”

Lerner was particularly concerned to hear the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has already spent $131,000 on its own TV ads in support of Buerkle.

“This is not because they have employees in the district,” Lerner said. “It is because they have an ideological bent, and they want to see candidates elected who support their position. This discourages people from taking part in elections. The system is corrosive and corruptive and it needs to be changed.”

Buerkle said a lot of groups from outside Central New York that support her campaign have employees who live in the 24th District.

“I think if you look who is supporting me, they are businesses that see a stark difference between my policies and Dan Maffei’s policies,” Buerkle said. “They realize we have to turn this economy around. We’re stuck in the mud in this country.”

In a fundraising email to individual supporters last week, he wrote, “Voter to voter is the way we are going to get around the flood of outside money that will be here soon enough.”

Buerkle and Maffei each have voiced support for federal campaign finance reform. Maffei co-sponsored a campaign finance reform bill when he served in the House; Buerkle has not co-sponsored one. Until the system changes, their campaigns say, they will do what is necessary to compete.

Not an accident

The flow of money from outside the district to Buerkle and Maffei is not happening by accident.

Consider:

Buerkle and Maffei are spending tens of thousands of dollars simply to raise money. Both campaigns hired national fundraising firms that help bring in campaign contributions from outside of Central New York.

In April and May alone, Buerkle spent more than $17,000 with DeLullo & Associates, an Alexandria, Va., fundraising consultant.

Maffei spent about $8,300 during the same period with The Angerholzer Team, a Washington, D.C. fundraising firm.

Buerkle and Maffei regularly attend pricey fundraisers on their behalf in Washington, D.C. and New York City.

Maffei visited Washington in May for a fundraising event hosed by Elizabeth Moynihan, wife of the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y. Maffei traveled to Washington in June for a $250 to $5,000 per person reception hosted by Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the second most powerful Democrat in the House.

Buerkle and the five other House Republicans seeking re-election in New York formed a joint fundraising committee, the New York Congressional Victory Committee. The committee held a Nov. 7 fundraiser at the Union League, a private club in New York City.

The evening cocktail reception and panel discussion netted more than $360,000 for the six House candidates. Buerkle’s share was $65,321.

The biggest donors that night were the owners and employees of Elliott Management, a $20 billion hedge fund in New York City. The hedge fund’s employees collectively were Buerkle’s largest source of contributions in 2010.

Some of Singer’s views are at odds with Buerkle. He has been a supporter of gay rights initiatives and helped raise more than $1 million for four state senators who were key votes in legalizing same-sex marriage in New York.

When it comes to social issues, Buerkle opposes same-sex marriage and abortion rights.

The congresswoman’s position on abortion earned her campaign special national status in the view of the Susan B. Anthony List, which has 345,000 members nationwide.

“For House members, without question she is at the top of our list,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, the group’s president.

Dannenfelser said the SBA List will encourage individual contributions from its membership and send them to Buerkle, rather than launching its own advertising campaign on her behalf.

“We are committed to doing everything it takes to get her elected,” Dannenfelser said. “She’s arguably in the most hostile territory of any of the women that we have helped elect right now.”